STUDENT'S PERCEPTIONS OF NATIVE SPEAKER AND NON-NATIVE SPEAKER TEACHERS: IMPLICATION FOR TEACHER EDUCATION

STUDENT’S PERCEPTIONS OF NATIVE SPEAKER AND

NON-NATIVE SPEAKER TEACHERS: IMPLICATION

FOR TEACHER EDUCATION *

Rahmila Murtiana

Abstract

This paper is based on the result of a small-scale research conducted in the early 2011,

which aimed to investigate the students‟ perceptions of native speaker teachers (NST) and

non-native speaker teachers (NNST). The participants of the research were students of

English Department Tarbiyah Faculty, State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) Antasari

Banjarmasin. To collect the data, the researcher developed a set of questionnaire, which was

generated and modified from earlier research conducted by Medgyes (1992) and Timmis

(2002). The findings revealed that the students had positive attitude toward both native

speaker and non-native speaker teachers. However, the students also encountered some

problems during the learning process with both native and non-native teachers. Thereby,

the writer attempts to put forward several ideas related to teacher education and professional

development, expecting that non-native teachers would be able to make the most of their

potentials.

Key words: perceptions, native speaker teachers, non-native speaker teachers

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1. Problem statement and research questions

In countries where English is spoken as a foreign language such as in Indonesia, English

teachers are mostly non-native speakers. The number of native speaker is only a few; they

are hired by schools or higher institutions based on certain contract, for example with the

cooperation with the embassy or foreign foundation. When an institution has a native

speaker, the atmosphere of learning is usually different from those which do not have a

native speaker. It is believed that native speaker can boost students‟ enthusiasm in learning

English as a foreign language. Beside it is a rare chance, students can feel the benefits of

learning from ‟first-hand source‟; among them is exposure to the correct pronunciation,

* Paper presented at the 5th International Seminar: Teacher Education in the Era of World Englishes, Satya

Wacana Christian University, Salatiga, 21-22 November 2011. Published in the Proceeding, pp. 29-42.

appropriate expressions, common idioms and slang used in English which may not always

be found in textbooks. Moreover, learning with native speaker can make students feel more

motivated to improve their ability in English.

For three consecutive years (2007-2010) English Department of Tarbiyah Faculty, State

Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) Antasari had an opportunity to host three different

native speaker lecturers from the U.S. This had been possible through ELF (English

Language Fellow), a program funded by the U.S embassy, which enables higher institutions

across provinces in Indonesia to have a native speaker of English as their guest lecturer.

It has been assumed that students‟ experience being taught by a native speaker brings

positive impacts not only to their ability in using English, but also their motivation in

learning. However, it is not known yet whether students have also encountered some

difficulties or problems when learning English from a native speaker, what students actually

expect from native speakers, and whether native speaker has been able to meet the students‟

learning needs.

To investigate further about this issue, the researcher attempted to investigate the students‟

perceptions of native speaker. It is important as well to compare the students‟ perceptions

of native speaker with their perceptions of non-native speaker teachers, as in most learning

and teaching activities, students meet and interact more with non-native speaker teachers.

Therefore, the researcher generated research questions as follows:

1. What are the students‟ perceptions of native English speaker teacher?

2. What are the students„ perceptions of their teachers who are non-native English

speakers?

3. What are the students‟ views on their ability and knowledge in English after being

taught by native speaker teacher?

4. What are the students‟ expectations regarding the roles of native speaker and non-

native speaker teachers in helping them improve their skills in English?

2. Literature Review

Although the number of non-native teachers has reached more than 80 % of all English

teachers in the world (Canagarajah, 1999 as cited in Gil, 2009), non-native teachers are still

widely considered less qualified than native speakers in teaching English. The dichotomy

of native and non-native speaker happens because of “native speaker fallacy”, that is, an

assumption that the native speaker is the ideal teacher (Phillipson, 1992 as cited in Gil,

2009, p. 90). Native speakers possess the language proficiencies, which include the

capability of using idiomatic expression and speak fluent English because they are “the

owners” (Samimy & Brutt-Griffler, 1999) and have “first-hand knowledge” (Kirkpatrick,

2007) of the language. Native speakers do not have difficulties in pronunciation because

they have acquired the language since they were born with it, and they are able to judge

which utterances are grammatically acceptable and which are not. Beside their linguistic

proficiencies, native teachers also possess the knowledge of cultural connotations of English

(Phillipson, 1992 as cited in Gil, 2009). For example, English has specific ways and

expressions for greeting, or how to extend wishes, condolences, etc, which are different

from learners‟ own cultures.

Because of these advantages, native teachers outperform the non-natives and are able to

occupy the central position in English learning and teaching all over the world. They are

teachers in their own countries (inner circle), and also sent to the outer and expanding circle

countries to teach or to train non-native teachers. In countries where English is learned as a

foreign language, the native speaker teacher is a real gift and can be students‟ favorite.

However, several studies have shown that there are also some circumstances where native

teachers may fail to meet learners‟ expectations. For example, in an English class in China,

the students think that their native teacher did not teach writing effectively (Cortazzi & Jin,

1996). This is because the students„ perceptions of writing discourse, process, and

organization were different from the teacher‟s. In other words, the Chinese students had

different ways of thinking which was influenced by their eastern tradition, while the teacher

brought with her the western tradition she is more accustomed to.

Not only the native teacher employed in EFL context such as the example given above, but

also the native teacher in their own country teaching ESL to students from other countries

may face similar difficulties. A study conducted on Korean students studying in Australia

revealed that they viewed their native teacher negatively because the teacher lacked of

understanding of Korean culture. The students expected their teacher to be more concerned

on their learning difficulties, and even should have knowledge in their language (Han,

2005).

The dichotomy of natives and non-natives mostly brings disadvantages to the latter.

Compared to native teachers, non-native teachers usually feel that they have a lot of

weaknesses, which in turn make them lose confidence when teaching. A correlational study

conducted by Reeves and Medgyes (1994, as cited in Samimy & Brutt-Griffler, 1999)

showed that there is a relationship between the teachers‟ proficiency and their self-image.

Non-native teachers not having a very good command of English, especially in oral

proficiency, mostly possess low self-image and this influence the way they teach.

The lack of competence possessed by non-native teachers might be true. In the case of ELT

in Indonesia, students may find that their English teachers are far from satisfactory. In terms

of educational background, not all English teachers have appropriate qualification or have a

chance to pursue English teacher training. The teaching methodology is still traditional and

the resources are limited. As a result, learners do not get make much improvement (Nur,

2004). Besides struggling with their own self-perceptions, non-native teachers also have to

face the learner‟s perceptions. Learners in general hold a belief that non-native teachers are

less competent, and they prefer to be taught by native speakers because they can get the

perfect model.

However, Brown (2007) puts forward a positive acknowledgment that non-native teachers

actually “possess distinct advantages over native teacher”. According to Brown, non-native

teachers may not always be able to achieve native-like oral proficiency, but they might have

excellent skills in listening, reading or writing. In dealing with their weakness in speaking

or pronunciation, Brown suggests non-native teachers to compensate it by using media such

as recording of native speakers‟ voices along with other models of English varieties.

More convincingly, Medgyes (1992) states that language competence is actually only one

variable in teaching skills. There are other variables like personality, behavior, experience,

aptitude, charisma, sex, age, motivation, training, and so on, which need to be taken into

account. If native and non-native teacher are compared within these aspects, it is very

likely that both are equally competent in teaching practice. For example, a non-native

teacher may be very charismatic according to the students because of his or her ability in

telling stories, making jokes, playing games, etc, or ability to build good relationship with

the students. In addition, Phillipson (1992) claims that non-native teachers can be better

qualified than native teacher because they have been through the complex process of

acquiring English, have insights on learners‟ linguistic and cultural needs, aware of the

difficulties and the difference between L1 and L2, and have first-hand experience of using

L2. Furthermore, Medgyes (1992, 2006) proposed the six assets of non-native teachers.

Those assets are:

1). Non-native teachers are models of successful learners. Non-native speakers of English

would not be able to become English teachers if they had not learned English successfully.

All the process and success can motivate the learners to make the same achievement or even

better.

2). Non-native teachers can teach learning strategies more effectively. They have

experiences and know how to learn the language through a conscious process, unlike the

natives who just acquire it. Therefore, they can apply and share their strategies to the

students.

3). Non-native teachers can provide learners with more information about English language.

It is because non-native teachers have learned English from scratch and during the process

they understand how English works. Non-native teachers have bilingual or even

multilingual competence, and according to Canagarajah (1999, p. 80), this competence

“develops a deep metalinguistic knowledge and complex language awareness”.

4). Non-native teachers are more able to anticipate learner‟s difficulties. Through their own

learning experience, non-native teachers know what is difficult and easy, so they can

anticipate when their students encounter certain problem. Medgyes (2006, p. 438) puts it as

having “sixth sense”, so non-native teachers can predict and prevent the students‟ linguistic

problems.

5). Non-native teacher tend to be more empathetic to the students‟ problems and needs. The

difficulties they previously encountered as learners might be similar to those of their students. This

similar experience makes non-native teachers more sensitive and understanding, and they can share

their tips and strategies to the learners.

6). Non-native teachers can benefit from using the same mother tongue as the students. In

the past, there was a notion that a successful lesson must be conducted entirely in English.

However, now many experts agree that the use of L1 can make the teaching and learning

process more successful. It can serve as “the most genuine vehicle of communication”

between teacher and learners (Medgyes, 2006, p. 439).

Harbord (1992) also approves of the use of L1 in a second language classroom and calls it

as a ”humanistic approach” because it can facilitate the communication as well as rapport

between learners and teacher. Learners are given opportunity to switch to L1 when they

have difficulties in finding the correct expression in English. So, they will be less fearful of

making mistakes. Besides, L1 can also be used for time efficiency. Students may feel

frustrated being taught by a native teacher because students may not always understand

everything in English. But when non-native teachers use their mother tongue to explain

difficult language items such as grammar patterns or certain expressions, the lesson is easier

to grasp.

Having the same first language can also mean having the same background in culture,

habits, or perspectives. Non native teachers are able to understand learners‟ behaviors in the

class, for example, why learners seem passive or do not ask questions, which for native

teachers this might not be favorable (Cortazzi & Jin, 1996, p. 196). Also, non-native

teachers will understand the way learners respond to particular topics such as women‟s

roles, family values, religious issues, norms in their society, etc. Native teachers might not

be all familiar with these or they have different perspectives.

For some EFL learners, cultural identity might be an important issue. Non-native teachers

could play important roles by helping learners acquire English successfully, while at the

same time maintain their cultural identity Being able to understand the students‟

backgrounds, a non-native teacher can conduct a lesson that is more culturally responsive,

for example by including local topics in the lesson materials.

3. Methodology

This research applied quantitative approach with a survey design. A set of questionnaire

was used as an instrument for this research to identify and measure the attitudes of the

participants toward the given topic. The items in the questionnaire were designed and

developed by the researcher based on the ideas proposed by Medgyes (1992) and Timmis

(2002) who conducted a research on similar topic but administer to a number of teacher and

students. While Medgyes attempted to get overall view on assets possessed by non-native

teachers, Timmis‟s research focused more on whether students and teachers must conform

to native speaker norms.

The questionnaire consisted of three parts: the first part asked the respondents‟ personal

background, the second part consisted of 30-item statements using Likert scale, and the

third part consisted of three open questions asking respondents‟ opinion and expectation on

native and non-native speaker teachers. The 30-item statements were given value, 1 for

strongly disagree (SD), 2 for disagree (D), 3 for unsure (U), 4 for agree (A), and 5 for

strongly agree (SA), whereas for negative statement item, a reverse scaling was used. The

questionnaire was administered manually (paper-based) during a class session. Two classes

in which the students have ever been taught by a native speaker were chosen as the

respondents. After it was gathered, the total of the respondents became 58 students, with the

distribution of 44 females and 14 males.

Since this research uses survey design which describe trends and general tendencies to a

single variable or question, descriptive statistics was used. Descriptive analysis of the data

was done on a variable-by-variable basis, and involved analyzing the means, standard

deviation, and frequency distribution. Besides indicating general tendencies of the data,

descriptive statistics has helped the researcher to summarize the overall trends in the data.

4. Findings

4.1. Students’ perception of native speaker teacher (NST)

Based on the students‟ response to several items which asked their opinion about native

speaker teacher, it is evident that most of them favor native speaker as their teacher and they

generally believe that having native speaker is important to help them successful in learning

English. The majority of students (48.3%) agree with the statement item 1, that is, having a

native speaker is a must if they want to be successful in learning English, and even 37.9 %

strongly agree with the statement. Only about 3% of the respondents disagree, and about

10% feel unsure.

This finding is supported by the response of students to the statement item 2, in which most

of the students believe that learning English with a native speaker is more effective, with

nearly 52% of the respondents agree and nearly 40% strongly agree with the statement. This

opinion might relate to the students‟ view that native speaker is the ideal model in terms of

speaking skill. More than 46% students strongly agree and 31% agree that they want to be

able to speak like a native speaker (item 10). Besides being an ideal model, native speaker is

also able to increase students‟ motivation and make students become more interested in

learning English. In response to statement item 9, 58.6 % of the respondents believe that

their interest toward English has increased because of the native speaker.

Interestingly, when the students were asked whether native speaker has better teaching

method and techniques, 32.8 % students feel unsure, which is the same number with the

students who agree, and 19% students even disagree with the statement. Overall, although

native speaker is preferred by many students, the next finding reveals that native speakers

are not always the best teacher. Only 24% students agree that native speaker is the best

teacher, while the majority of students (42%) feel unsure. Many students also feel unsure

whether native speaker is more approachable than non-native teachers. The following table

summarizes the participants‟ perception of native speaker teacher.

Table 4.1.1. Students’ perceptions of NST

Item

No

Statement SD D U A SA Mean Std.

deviation

1 Having a native speaker

is a must if we want to

be successful in learning

English.

2

(3.4%)

6

(10.3%)

28

(48.3%)

22

(37.9%) 4.21 .767

2 Learning English with

native speaker is more

effective.

1

(1.7%)

4

(6.9%)

30

(51.7%)

23

(39.7%) 4.29 .676

3 Native speaker has better

methods and techniques

in teaching than non-

native speaker

1

(1.7%)

11

(19%)

19

(32.8%)

19

(32.8%)

7

(12.1%) 3.35

.991

4 Native speaker teacher is

more approachable than

non-native teacher

1

(1.7%)

14

(24.1%)

20

(34.5%)

17

(29.3%)

6

(10.3%) 3.22 .982

6 Native speaker is the

best teacher

4

(6.9%)

6

(10.3%)

25

(43.1%)

14

(24.1%)

9

(15.5%) 3.31 1.079

9 My interest toward

English language has

increased because of a

native speaker

1

(1.7%)

4

(6.9%)

12

(20.7%)

34

(58.6%)

6

(10.3%) 3.70 .823

10 When I speak, I want to

sound like a native

speaker

1

(1.7%)

12

(20.7%)

18

(31%)

27

(46.6%) 4.22 .839

*SD = Strongly Disagree D= Disagree U= Unsure A=Agree SA=Strongly Agree

The descriptive statistics shows that the highest mean was gained by statement number 2,

implying that most respondents agreed that learning English with native speaker is more

effective (M = 4.29). The standard deviation of this item was also not very high (SD =

.676), which implies that most respondents have similar opinion on the item.

4.2. Students’ perceptions of their ability and knowledge after being taught by a

native speaker teacher

Based on the students‟ responses, it is found that students are still not confident with their

ability in English despite their experience having learned from a native speaker. About 24%

students feel unsure and about 43% do not feel confident with their ability. The issue of

intelligibility seems to be the students‟ concern when practicing or communicating with

native speaker. Although a majority of students (nearly 57%) feel at ease practicing their

English with a native speaker, most of them (43%) still feel nervous when they have to

practice their English with native speaker because they are afraid if the native speaker does

not understand them.

This might happen because the students have failed to make themselves understood due to

lack of vocabulary, misunderstand meaning of utterances, have different accent, or could

not switch into L1 as they normally do it with non-native teachers. From the students‟

response to the open questions item 1, it is evident that students are not always able to

achieve successful communication with native speaker, either because their native speaker

teacher talked too fast, or the students could not find the right way to convey what they

mean.

These responses challenge native speaker‟s role in helping students successful in using

English. Most of the students (nearly 40%) feel unsure with the statement that their English

ability would not become as good as now without native speaker help. The number of

students who agree is about 38%, which if combined with those who strongly agree, is still

lower than the percentage of students who feel unsure, disagree, and strongly disagree.

Regarding cultural knowledge, which can not be separated from learning a language, most

of the students (nearly 59%) agree that being taught by native speaker has made them more

aware and understand about western culture. However, there are a few students who

disapproved with the culture or habit brought by native speaker such as their clothing, their

attitude, or they way they talk. This implies that students still stick strongly to the local

culture particularly Islamic culture, and have not yet accustomed to the western culture. The

following table summarizes the participants‟ perceptions of their English ability after being

taught by a native speaker teacher.

Table 4.2.1. Students’ perceptions of their English ability after being taught by native

speaker teacher

Item

No

Statement SD D U A SA Mean Std.

deviation

7 My English would not be as

good as now without the

help of native speaker

1

(1.7%)

8

(13.8%)

23

(39.7%)

22

(37.9%)

4

(6.9%) 3.34 .870

8 I feel at ease when

practicing my English with

a native speaker

1

(1.7%)

3

(5.2%)

18

(31%)

33

(56.9%)

3

(5.2%) 3.59 .750

12 I feel nervous when

practicing my English with

native speakers because I

am afraid they would not

understand me

1

(1.7%)

5

(8.6%)

13

(22.4%)

25

(43.1%)

14

(24.1%) 3.79 .969

13 Although I have learned

from a native speaker, I am

still not confident with my

ability

1

(1.7%)

13

(22.4%)

14

(24.1%)

25

(43.1%)

5

(8.6%) 3.34 .983

11 My awareness and

understanding toward

western culture have

increased after learning

from a native speaker

1

(1.7%)

7

(12.1%)

9

(15.5%)

33

(56.9%)

6

(10.3%) 3.64 .903

*SD = Strongly Disagree D= Disagree U= Unsure A=Agree SA=Strongly Agree

The mean for all variables shows the scores below 4, which indicates that the opinions fall

slightly from ‟agree‟ to „unsure‟. In other words, students perceive their knowledge and

ability in English as still not very strong or need to be improved.

4.3. Students’ perception of non-native speaker teachers (NNST)

Despite the findings that students mostly like to be taught by native speaker and view native

speaker as an important and good model, most of the students believe that non-native

teacher of English can also have competence and proficiency like a native speaker. More

than 50 % students even agree on the statement that non-native teacher can be the better

model of successful language learner. This supports the notion from Medgyes (2006), who

stated that non-native teachers are models of successful learners because they would not be

able to become English teachers if they had not learned English successfully. However,

about 30% students feel unsure. This might be because they view non-native speaker

teacher in terms of their language competence, which is still considered lower than that of

native speaker. In addition to being a model of successful learner, the skills and

competence of non-native teacher can inspire the students to achieve the same competence

or even better. 60.3 % of the students agree with this statement, and nearly 26% strongly

agree.

Another positive perception toward non-native teachers is about the ability of non-native

teachers in anticipating students‟ learning difficulties. Most of students (62.1%) think that

non-native teachers are more able to anticipate their difficulties in learning. Again, these

data support Medgyes‟s notion about assets of non-native teachers which have been

previously discussed in literature review. However, many students still doubt whether non-

native teachers can teach learning strategy more effectively. Although nearly 44.8% agree

with this, the high percentage of unsure response (43%) shows the doubt of the students.

Regarding non-native teachers empathy toward students‟ learning problems, 41% students

think that non-native teachers are quite empathetic. Empathy here means that teachers

could understand students‟ difficulties and try to give them solution based on their previous

experience as learners. Strangely, the „unsure‟ response is quite high (36%), in contrast with

student personal statement in the open question. So, it is possible that students misinterpret

this item.

Another positive side of being non-native teachers is non-native teachers understand

students‟ habit and behavior more than native speakers do (item 20), with nearly 57%

students agree with the statement. The fact that non-native teachers can understand

students‟ habit and behavior is possible because non-native teachers come from the same

cultural background as the students. Besides, students have interacted with non-native

teachers longer than they do with native speakers. Furthermore, most of the students

(nearly 57%) agree that the way non-native teachers teach and talk is easier to understand

(item 15). This is reasonable because non-native teachers have the same mother tongue and

therefore similar accent to the students, so that students are more familiar with the way they

talk.

The ability of non-native teachers in using the same mother tongue with the students has

been proven as an advantage of being non-native teachers. 54 % students agree and 17%

strongly agree for Item 23, and for item 27, 54 % students agree if their non-native teachers

use mother tongue while teaching particularly in explaining difficult terms. The benefit of

using mother tongue has also been expressed by several students through their response in

the open questions, as it can help students understand the material more easily.

Overall responses of participants regarding their perceptions of the non-native speaker

teacher as well as mean and standard deviation of each variable are presented in the next

table.

Table 4.3.1. Students’ perceptions of NNST

Item

No

Statement SD D U A SA Mean Std.

deviation

14 In my view, non-native teachers

can teach learning strategy more

effectively

3

(5.2%)

25

(43.1%)

26

(44.8%)

4

(6.9%) 3.53 .706

15 The way non-native teachers

talk and teach is easier to

understand

3

(5.2%)

4

(6.9%)

33

(56.9%)

8

(13.8%) 3.79 .744

16 Non-native teachers are more

able to anticipate my difficulties

in learning

2

(3.4%)

11

(19%)

36

(62.1%)

8

(13.8%) 3.88 .683

17 Non-native teachers show more

empathy toward my learning

problems rather than native

speaker teachers

10

(17.2%

)

21

(36.2%)

23

(39.7%)

3

(5.2%) 3.33 .831

18 I believe that non-native

speaker teacher can be the better

model of successful language

learner

3

(5.2%)

17

(29.3%)

28

(48.3%)

8

(13.8%) 3.73 .774

19 Non-native teacher of English

can also have competence and

proficiency like a native speaker

1

(1.7%)

4

(6.9%)

37

(63.8%)

16

(27.6%) 4.16 .696

20 Non-native teachers understand

my habit and behavior more

than native speakers do

1

(1.7%)

3

(5.2%)

12

(20.7%)

33

(56.9%)

9

(15.5%) 3.79 .833

22 The skills and the success of

non-native teachers inspire me

to achieve the same or even

better competence than theirs

1

(1.7%)

2

(3.4%)

5

(8.6%)

35

(60.3%)

15

(25.9%) 4.05 .804

23 The ability of non-native

teacher in using the same

mother tongue as me is an

advantage as it can help the

process of teaching and learning

more successful

3

(5.2%)

2

(3.4%)

11

(19%)

32

(55.2%)

10

(17.2%) 3.76 .961

*SD = Strongly Disagree D= Disagree U= Unsure A=Agree SA=Strongly Agree

From the table, it is clear that most of the students agree that non-native speaker teachers

can have the same competence as native speaker, revealed by the high mean (M = 4.16) and

low standard deviation (SD = .696).

4.4. Students’ expectations toward NST and NNST

As mentioned in the previous section, the difficulty of students in understanding native

speaker becomes the major concern because sometimes native speaker speaks at a pace

which students think as too fast. Therefore, some students expect that native teacher can

talk slowly. In addition, 58.6 % students expect that native speaker teacher could understand

their language, and 22.4 % even strongly agree with it. This is reasonable, as the

explanation by native speaker is not always understood by students particularly if students

are still unfamiliar with the expressions used. In response to item no.3 in the open question,

students stated that they did not like the situation when they did not understand the meaning

and had to ask other friends who understand. It is also interesting to find that students

expect native speaker to conform or adapt with the local culture.

For non-native teacher, students‟ expectations include teaching competence and

professionalism, rapport, assignment issue, and discipline. Regarding teaching competence,

students expect that their non-native teacher could be as competent as native speaker teacher

and use recent methods and techniques in teaching. In addition, many students believe that

non-native teachers should improve their skills by pursuing their higher education in an

English-speaking country. This may relate to the students‟ belief that learning with native

speaker is more effective because they can get a good model of pronunciation and

expression, and it is where English is spoken as first language, people can get maximum

exposure to it.

However, students do not expect non-native teachers to achieve a perfect proficiency. This

is based on the response of the students who feel unsure (43.1%), which is only a slightly

different from the students who agree (44.8%). The mean and standard deviation of this

item which is not very high (M = 3.46 and SD = .683) shows that students have quite

similar opinion about the ideal non-native teachers. As a matter of fact, being a professional

teacher does not always mean to have a native-like proficiency. As Brown (2007) and

Medgyes (2006) suggest, there are many other aspects that could be the strong points of

non-native teachers.

The responses of participants regarding their expectations toward native speaker and non-

native speaker teacher are presented in the following table.

Table 4.4.1. Students’ expectation toward NST and NNST

Item

No

Statement SD D U A SA Mean Std.

deviation

5 It would be more helpful if

native speakers also learn

and understand my native

language and culture.

2

(3.4%)

7

(12.1%)

4

(58.6%)

13

(22.4%) 4.04 .713

21 To improve their skills, non-

native teachers should pursue

their higher education in

countries where English is

the first language.

1

(1.7%)

2

(3.4%)

10

(17.2%)

27

(46.6%)

17

(29.3%) 4.00 .886

26 The ideal non-native teachers

are those who have achieved

native-like proficiency in

English.

4

(6.9%)

25

(43.1%)

26

(44.8%)

2

(3.4%) 3.46 .683

*SD = Strongly Disagree D= Disagree U= Unsure A=Agree SA=Strongly Agree

In general, students still perceive non-native speaker teachers positively. The majority of

students respect their non-native teacher as much as they respect their native speaker teacher

(item 28), with 46.6 % agree and 37.9 % strongly agree. The argument that supports this

finding could be because it is the nature of students who study at an Islamic institution; they

bring with them Islamic value, which request the students to respect to their teacher,

regardless of background or ability.

Another good sign is students do not really mind whether the teacher is native and non-

native, because they just love to learn English (item 29). What is more important for them is

teacher or lecture‟s professionalism. See the following figure:

Here, a high percentage on agree (about 41%) and strongly agree (nearly 40%) reflect

students‟ passion for learning English. This attitude is supported by the next finding:

This finding shows a very strong feeling of students toward their teachers. Almost 100% of

the students or 27.6 % agree and 70.7 % strongly agree that it does not matter teachers are

native or non-native, as long as they have high proficiency and professionalism (item 30).

5. Conclusion and Implications

This research still has limitation in terms of respondents as not many students could be

involved in the survey. As well as that, instrument validity and reliability need to be

analyzed more deeply by using item analysis. A more reliable instrument also needs to be

developed in order to get a more valid result. However, several implications could be

drawn, particularly to enhance the quality of teacher education in Indonesia.

As the majority of students agree that it does not matter teachers are native or non-native as

long as they have high level of proficiency and professionalism, there should be no more

dichotomy between native speaker and non-native speaker teachers. Both have strengths as

well as weaknesses, thus both should complement each other in playing their roles in

helping students to be successful in learning English.

Higher institutions or teacher preparatory colleges which have English department may

need to continue having native speaker as the guest lecturer, for example through

cooperation with embassies or other international organizations that could sponsor language

fellow program or teacher exchange programs. Not only native speaker teachers will

benefit students as they provide good model in English and increase students‟ interest and

motivation, but native speaker will benefit the faculty members (non-native teachers) as

well by sharing teaching experiences.

In regards to the students‟ difficulties in understanding native speakers, and some

inconvenient feeling when they encounter with the different culture brought by native

speaker, it could be overcome by providing native speaker teacher some kind of orientation

program before they are assigned to teach at certain institution. The orientation program

may include the cultural learning and local language learning. Native speaker teacher could

also learn from non-native teachers. In this way, students‟ expectation that native speaker

teachers be aware of students‟ cultural background as well as their limited ability in English

could hopefully be met.

Meanwhile, despite some limitations possessed by non-native teachers, students perceive

non-native teachers positively, and they believe that non-native teachers have potentials or

strengths which native speakers do not have. Among those potentials are their ability to

anticipate students‟ difficulties, understand students‟ habit and culture, the ability to switch

from English to mother tongue, which can help students understand the learning material

better, and their skills and achievement which can inspire the students. Students expect

non-native speaker teachers to improve their competence and performance, and build better

rapport with students.

In this light, non-native teachers are challenged to continue their professional development.

This could be done through graduate studies (in English speaking countries – if possible),

and participation in trainings, short courses, conferences, seminars, workshops, or sharing

programs among teachers at the district, regency, national, regional, or even international

level. The benefits are non-native teachers will be able to improve their language

proficiency, teaching competence, as well as keep themselves informed about the various

issues of English as a global language. The opportunities to participate in professional

development activities would need support or sponsorship from various sides including the

government, respective institution where the teachers work, or from the third parties such as

private foundations and organizations, local and foreign.

Next, it is recommended that the topic about World Englishes and the issue of native and

non-native teachers be included as part of the curriculum in teacher education (either pre-

service or in service). The purposes are: 1) to make non-native teachers more aware about

the issue of World Englishes, and avoid „fanaticism‟ on certain English variety such as

American English or British English and underestimate other varieties; 2) to remind non-

native teachers about their potentials, so that they are willing to develop those potentials;

and 3) to boost non-native teachers‟ confidence and ensure their identity among all teachers

of English in the world.

Non-native teachers should also improve their proficiency and professionalism by

enhancing their knowledge in ICT. If teachers are technology-savvy, they could make use

of the sophisticated technology, from which they could get myriads of information and

countless sources related to teaching materials and techniques. Moreover, they could make

contact and interact with English teachers all over the world, share ideas, learn from each

other, and keep updated to the latest trend in ELT. In this way, learners will no longer

assume that non-native teachers are left behind compared to native speaker teachers.

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